[Singapore] - Singaporean shocked when charged $15.70 delivery fees by GrabFood

[UltimaOnline]

https://www.allsingaporestuff.com/article/netizen-shocked-grabfood-service-fees

 

[glocky]

All these paika paichew deserve it

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Singkies should help the food vendors by purchasing directly from them. Why let these app blood suckers fuck the vendors even more?

As COVID-19 hits F&B sector, calls emerge for delivery apps to lower commission fees
Grab Food, grab, delivery driver - file photo
File photo of a Grab Food delivery driver (Photo: Jeremy Long)
Bookmark
SINGAPORE: The “very high” commission fees charged by food delivery platforms are eating into the already-thin profits of food and beverage (F&B) businesses, said an industry group as it called for these fees to be cut during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the longer run.

The Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS), which has over 450 members, said current commission charges range from 25 to 32 per cent for each order.

“RAS hopes that the delivery platforms will lower their commission rates during the COVID-19 period and also in the longer run,” a spokesperson told CNA.

“Whether it is the circuit breaker period or not, the rates are not sustainable for the businesses given F&B’s razor-thin margins."

In recent years, willingness from consumers to pay for convenience has whetted a growing appetite for meal deliveries in Singapore, spurring the growth of platforms such as foodpanda and Deliveroo.

While there were concerns about the steep commission fees, which can go as high as 40 per cent an order according to F&B owners that CNA spoke with, they were largely overshadowed by the lure of capturing a slice of a growing market.

But as F&B owners grapple with a sharp fall in revenue amid the COVID-19 outbreak, especially with stricter rules banning dine-ins until at least May 4, these fees have become harder to stomach and calls for lower fees have grown.

At least two Members of Parliament (MPs) have spoken out on this recently.

West Coast GRC MP Foo Mee Har described the commission fees as “an exorbitant one-third of customer receipts” and, citing F&B owners she spoke with, only “barely tolerable during peace time”.

As businesses become increasingly reliant on meal delivery services amid the virus outbreak, “payment of such commissions renders the sustainability of food establishments untenable”.

Speaking on Apr 7 during the Budget debate, Ms Foo urged delivery platforms to do their part by reviewing commission models so as to “foster more equitable sharing of costs and benefits”.

READ: Events postponed, restaurants ‘near empty’: F&B industry on the chopping block as COVID-19 measures bite
Also urging food delivery platforms to lower their commissions “especially during such unprecedented times”, Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Melvin Yong said current charges are “too exorbitant” for hawkers.

“In some cases, the commission fees exceed the hawker's profit margins!" he remarked in an entry on the labour movement’s blog on Apr 4, adding that a lower fee would nudge more hawkers to sign up.

DELIVERY APPS WAIVE SOME FEES

Asked if they would lower their commission rates, the three biggest food delivery players in Singapore – foodpanda, Deliveroo and GrabFood – would only say they have various measures to help F&B businesses cope with the COVID-19 fallout.

For instance, they have quickened the onboarding process for new sign-ups amid increased demand. Deliveroo said it has onboarded around 100 new restaurants since Apr 3 and aims to double this number in the next two weeks.

Some related fees have also been waived, according to replies from these delivery players.

foodpanda said its onboarding process has been shortened to within 3 days and new vendors will not have to pay registration fees. It is also waiving commission fees for the first month for those who sign up between Apr 9 and May 4 and have one or two outlets.

Deliveroo will waive up to S$360 of onboarding fees, said its spokesperson. Meanwhile, a new weekly payment service begins later this month so that cash-strapped restaurants can have faster access to their delivery revenue.

GrabFood is waiving commission fees for self pick-up orders during the circuit breaker period and its other measures include creating a “Local Heroes” icon on its homepage to help increase the visibility of single-outlet F&B places.

Deliveroo selected neighbourhoods
(Photo: Facebook/Deliveroo Riders Singapore)
LOWER COMMISSION FEES TO 12-15%: RAS

Such measures do little to alleviate the woes of F&B operators, said restaurateur Loh Lik Peng who described them as “tactical promotions” to capture market share.

“Is this a fundamental change to the commission model? I would say no as it makes no difference in the long term," he said, noting that rates of around 30 per cent "continue to be unsustainable" as they take a huge chunk out of F&B business earnings.

And amid the COVID-19 outbreak with a vast majority of F&B businesses already suffering "fairly steep losses", many F&B operators are persisting with deliveries simply to “mitigate" further losses, he added.

Mr Loh noted how concerns about the steep commission fees charged by food delivery players have been raised in other countries. For instance, legislation has been introduced by the New York City Council last month to limit such fees at 10 per cent.

READ: Delivery fees, commissions cut as Americans stop dining out
“We do hope more can be done for the long term,” said Mr Loh, who is one of the founders of an informal F&B grouping called the #savefnbsg.

The group, made up of over 500 restaurants here, issued a statement on Wednesday (Apr 15) calling for the Government to consider mandating these commission fees.

Citing how city officials in San Francisco have issued an emergency order for delivery platforms to cap commissions at 15 per cent, an open letter on the group's website said: “If the Singapore government can do likewise and mandate that delivery platforms lower their commission by at least 15 per cent, it will play a huge part in our survival.”

It has set up an online petition to rally for lower commissions, after watching "in frustration" as these rates "increased steadily from 20 per cent to 30 per cent".

The strongly-worded statement also appealed to consumers to order directly from F&B operators instead.

"As restaurateurs, our appeal to you is: If you want your dollar to have the most impact in supporting the industry, stop ordering through these platforms.”

Screengrab of #savefnbsg open letter
An open letter from the informal grouping #savefnbsg posted on Apr 15, 2020.
The RAS said a range of 12 to 15 per cent “would be more viable” for F&B operators here, in response to CNA’s question on how much commission rates should be reduced.

For the time being, it is encouraging restaurants to tap on a newly announced relief package from Enterprise Singapore which will fund 5 percentage points of the commissions charged by Deliveroo, GrabFood and foodpanda, with no cap on the food delivery transaction value, from Apr 7 to May 4.

READ: F&B businesses to receive support for food delivery orders with new Enterprise Singapore booster package
FINDING ALTERNATIVES

As the COVID-19 outbreak drags on, businesses are mulling alternatives.

Unlisted Collection, for instance, has tapped local technology start-up Oddle to build an online ordering system for its restaurants so that it can take orders directly via its websites. Oddle takes a 10 per cent cut from each order that is transacted on this system.

Mr Loh said his firm will “continue to look at Oddle as a preferred platform” given the lower costs.

Having a personalised ordering site also allows it to better engage customers, versus having to fight for attention with many other restaurants listed on the same marketplace, the entrepreneur added.

Mr Loh doesn’t seem to be alone as Oddle has seen 15 per cent more sign-ups since end-March, its chief financial officer Solomon Tan told CNA.

“In the past merchants will tell us ‘I’m already on food delivery marketplaces so that’s my online presence’. This changed after COVID-19.”

Oddle hopes to “empower” F&B operators with their own digital presence. More than just consolidating orders and payments, its system also provides analytics to help businesses determine the type of marketing needed. Oddle is also able to provide logistics support for meal deliveries.

“We want to help businesses to go online. This is something that I think has become a lot more important during COVID-19 when businesses realise they couldn’t address the market needs.

“To put it simply, they find themselves having to speak to a reseller in order to sell more, when they can just be trying to sell more themselves,” said Mr Tan.

Social Distancing 19
Red crosses labelled on the tables at Hokkaido Marche in Orchard Central on Thursday (March 26) (Photo: Jeremy Long)
Other F&B owners have turned to doing their own deliveries by tapping ad-hoc riders or drivers.

One of them is DOCO – an eatery selling Japanese rice bowls in Tanjong Pagar. Its owner Ken Tan took to Facebook last week to search for drivers looking to earn additional income. He has since assembled five drivers who take on an average of 20 to 25 deliveries a day.

Drivers get to keep the delivery fees, which range from S$3 to S$10 depending on the distance.

“I’ll like to do more orders islandwide … and these drivers also need to earn an income. So I thought why not let’s try this out.”

empty spaces - a look at singapore during covid-19 circuit breaker
Lau Pa Sat food centre at mid-day during the circuit breaker. (Photo: Jeremy Long)
GROUND-UP EFFORT FOR HAWKERS

For hawkers, many of whom have been deterred by the commission fees of food delivery platforms, a ground-up initiative which started on Facebook earlier this month has been seen as timely help.

Called the Hawkers United – Dabao 2020, the Facebook group allows hawkers to promote their menus, takeaway and delivery services for free.

Its creator, Mr Melvin Chew who runs Jin Ji Teochew Braised Duck & Kway Chap at Chinatown Complex, said most hawkers do not have accounts on social media platforms and are used to relying on walk-in customers.

Knowing that many will be badly affected by the dine-in ban and other “circuit breaker” rules, he knew he had to act quickly to help.

“That’s why I created a space where it’s free for all hawkers and some F&B outlets, and also welcome consumers who are interested in ordering from these stalls.”

The group has attracted nearly 220,000 members as of Apr 15 – a surprise for Mr Chew.

While there has been some “unwelcome” attention such as the set-up of a fake Telegram group, Mr Chew said he and his team feel encouraged when they learnt that some hawkers have since received “overwhelming” orders through the Facebook group.

The second-generation hawker is hoping to help more and has gone on to set up two other groups on the social media platform. One is targeted at wet market vendors – Pasar United – Dabao 2020 – and the other called Delivery United aims to help F&B operators locate deliverymen.

Most hawkers told CNA that they remain hesitant in signing up with food delivery platforms as the commissions remain “too high” even with the one-month funding from Enterprise Singapore.

Delivery platforms will need to lower their rates “by a huge margin” or offer the hawker community “a proportionate commission rate to sales”, said Mr Chew.

“If my duck rice is S$3 a packet and 30 per cent is deducted by the mega ordering platforms with delivery services, you can quickly calculate how little we get back. I still have to pay rent, utilities, suppliers, packaging etc.”

READ: From hawker centre to home: Is delivering cheap, local food a recipe for business success?
To be sure, there are start-ups that have been trying to disrupt the space by delivering hawker food.

WhyQ, which began operations in early 2017, does not charge commissions “considering the low cost of hawker fare”, said its co-founder Rishabh Singhvi.

Its revenue comes from the delivery fee of S$1.50 and a mark-up on food prices made in agreement with the hawkers.

However, Mr Chew said having reliable, islandwide delivery also matters for hawkers when it comes to deciding delivery partners.

“Because hawkers mostly work for and by themselves, we need to minimise risks and problems including delivery and avoid customers’ complaints,” he said.

 

[valleycat]

https://www.allsingaporestuff.com/article/netizen-shocked-grabfood-service-fees

I GOT TO KNOW A DELIVERY LADY WHO HAS A GROUP OF FRIENDS DOING FREE LANCE DELIVERY AS SHE HAS LOST HER FULLTIME JOB. SHE CHARGED ME FIFTEEN DOLLARS FOR FAR AWAY DELIVERIES , BE IT FOOD OR PARCEL . FEEL GOOD TO HELP THEM INSTEAD OF USING GRAB WHO IS TAKING A HUGE MARGIN AS THEY DONT PAY THE DELIVERY PARTNERS MUCH .

 

[Narong Wongwan]

All these paika paichew deserve it

Yes sg is so tiny and convenient to get food even 24/7. Fucktards deserve it. Can’t afford it dun complain

 

[sweetiepie]

Yes sg is so tiny and convenient to get food even 24/7. Fucktards deserve it. Can’t afford it dun complain

KNN can only comprain if never take up the offer KNN if took up the offer and comprain will be rike gan shiok bin liao the phua toa nua jibye kind KNN

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Commentary: If we can share or hitch rides, why not food delivery?
Amid calls to lower commission fees, food delivery apps should rethink their business operations – including considering asking some consumers to pay more, says Jonathan Chang.

A Grab delivery rider wears a face mask
A Grab delivery rider wears a face mask as he cycles on a street in Singapore, Mar 31, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)
Bookmark
SINGAPORE: Once upon a time, delivery app companies in Singapore were intensely competing with one another, trying to change the way consumers buy food by dishing out discount coupons left and right.

Investors poured an exorbitant amount of capital, envisioning that a big war chest was needed to achieve scale.

This strategy eerily mirrored that of private-car hire sector.

In principle, scale would allow companies to spread out operating costs and make their products and services more affordable, which in turn, increases their market share.

Restaurants and big international food chains signed up with the major three online food delivery platforms Deliveroo, FoodPanda and GrabFood as a way to broaden their customer base.

ENTER COVID-19 AND CRITICISM OF DELIVERY APPS

With COVID-19 and the subsequent “circuit breakers” rolled out in Singapore, including outlawing dining-in, it was boon time for online food delivery companies.

READ: Commentary: Lockdown and isolation sound simple – but keeping people at home is no easy answer
Captive customers are ordering food in droves through their mobile apps. Eateries are signing up en masse. People queued for hours to become food deliverers.

Yet the law of economies of scale, in which a proportionate saving in costs is gained with an increased level of production, doesn’t seem to apply to the high merchant fees F&B outlets have been paying to delivery app companies.

The commission fee has remained roughly the same as before the pandemic: 25 per cent to 32 per cent of each other, according to the Restaurant Association of Singapore, which has over 450 members.

Bikers of food courier service Deliveroo demonstrate as they called on clients to boyco
Bikers of food courier service Deliveroo demonstrate as they called on clients to boycott the brand in Paris, France, Aug 7, 2019. (Photo: REUTERS/Charles Platiau)
This might not be the sky-high rates the likes of UberEats in other countries charge, which slapped these fees on the consumer instead of the food outlet and can come up to 90 per cent of your meal, according to a New York Times report.

But the criticism leveled on the high merchant fees have been loud and wide, while the muted response from online food delivery companies has been deafening.

Melvin Yong, assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), in a blog post, even said the commission fees charged by some online food delivery companies can exceed the hawker’s profit margins.

There is a way to make money, and then there is a way to make money responsibly and sensibly, especially in this unprecedented time of crisis, many have said.

HIGH COMMISSION DO FEES HURT EATERIES

Since the implementation of circuit breakers in Singapore, numerous F&B outlets have chosen to call it a day.

From stalwart Swee Kee Eating House to new kid on the block Grain Traders, many have closed shop, with more simply ceasing to exist, given how COVID-19 has all but eviscerated demand.

READ: Commentary: COVID-19 will plunge EPL clubs into financial woes
After all, with empty malls, office buildings, and educational institutions, the foot traffic eateries depend on, how much can food delivery sustain operations?

The cost of running a store is not just about the salary of the workers, but also the cost of goods sold and other operating expenses.

This is not counting business loan interest repayments and other fixed costs like rent. There has been huge assistance from the Singapore Government, from rental rebates, wage support and even Enterprise Singapore covering part of the commission fees.

(rp) Swee Kee Eating house
The Swee Kee Eating House along Amoy Street. (Photo: Cedric Tang)
But I will not be surprised if we see a shrinking pool of eateries in the coming weeks and months to come. More will decide to shut down, unable to sustain the business any longer.

EATERIES WILL FIGHT BACK

For the rest hanging on the margins, larger, more established restaurants with an established base of regulars will try to circumvent high merchant fees by setting up their own online delivery channels that directly compete with food delivery apps.

More will also use such channels to also offer discounts for self-pick-up customers but encouraging this could be counterproductive to the spirit of the circuit breakers if customers crowd around eateries to save money.

Ground-up initiatives including Facebook Group platforms like Singapore Restaurant Rescue and Hawkers United – Dabao 2020 have also thrown F&B outlets new, captive audiences, as a #supportlocal movement gains traction in Singapore.

LISTEN: Disruption 101: How COVID-19 is revolutionising work
But it is unclear if such momentum that depends on a small base of highly engaged but loyal fans will still be around to power eateries after COVID-19 blows over and can be a sustainable business model.

Delivery apps suddenly look like an attractive means to achieve scale after the pandemic is over.

DELIVERY APPS MUST BE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE

Still, at some point, the Big Three may rethink the commission rates they charge eateries for a variety of reasons.

Drawing parallels with the private-hire sector, Grab had announced it would halve commission for private hire drivers for the period of the circuit breaker, given slowing demand for rides. Then again, ride-hailing demand has evaporated and doing so seemed like the generous thing to do.

empty spaces - a look at singapore during covid-19 circuit breaker
Lau Pa Sat food centre at mid-day during the circuit breaker. (Photo: Jeremy Long)
We also know sensible investors would also like to see their portfolio companies do the right thing, providing support to local communities, given the momentum towards prioritising Environmental, Social and Governance goals in the corporate world.

READ: Commentary: Has COVID-19 made e-commerce and online shopping the new normal?
Surely businesses would want to leave COVID-19 with reputations intact?

For this reason perhaps, Airbnb has connected overworked health workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in France and Italy with hosts offering their homes to stay – for free. It has waived all fees and even provides 50 euros to each host to help with cleaning costs.

RETHINK ON-DEMAND FOOD DELIVERY

Maybe what delivery companies need is a different strategy behind their technology platform, which has been powered by a promise to fulfill your needs on-demand.

We have compared delivery apps to companies with pure tech plays like Netflix, where the marginal cost of handling higher traffic isn’t that much (until you need to build a new data centre or acquire servers with higher bandwidth), but forget the long, logistical lines that power these operations.

Although much scorn has been poured on food delivery apps, a huge gap in our understanding is how much food deliverers earn from each delivery that eats into the commission fees eateries are charged.

A Foodpanda rider on an e-scooter.
A Foodpanda rider on an e-scooter. (File photo: TODAY)
If we do not want those reduced, we then need to ask ourselves whether delivery has been underpriced all this while. Consumers will have to pay more if so.

I also do not think it is too much to ask customers (including me) to place orders in advance in exchange for lower merchant fees. This would allow riders to consolidate to pick up orders in bulk and combine delivery routes but the efficiency of batching will require orders hours in advance.

This could also aid smaller F&B outlets by helping them predict how much food they must prepare ahead of time, reducing food waste in a time when food supplies are under strain from restrictions and uncertainty in global supply chains.

INTERACTIVE: All the COVID-19 clusters at dorms and construction sites
Pre-COVID, many of us accepted it as a business decision when private car hire companies charged surge pricing during certain hours due to high demand.

We bought the argument the surge pricing was needed to incentivise drivers to be on the road, so surely consumers too will be open to paying more if they want lunch on-demand instead of ordering in advance.

A segment of us also traded convenience in return for lower fees in pooling or hitching rides – so why can’t such concepts be ported over to food delivery? Such needed funds could also be passed onto F&B outlets and hawkers to tide over this time of crisis.

OUR ESSENTIAL SERVICES?

The fact is that food delivery companies have become an essential service as countries like Singapore urge people to stay in.

COVID-19 has catapulted them in the same categories as health, social services and many others that keep countries going during this stay-in period and shone the public spotlight on them.

Grab Food, grab, delivery driver - file photo
File photo of a Grab Food delivery driver (Photo: Jeremy Long)
Many of us might have enjoyed the affordability and convenience of food delivery before the coronavirus outbreak, but its larger public benefits in keeping people home have come into sharper focus with a raging pandemic.

We are not living under a normal time – a business-as-usual model can no longer apply. It’s time to rethink deliveries and who must pay more.

 

[Scrooball (clone)]

The delivery cost is crazy high when u order from very faraway restaurants. Nowadays Grab have this idiotic island wide delivery. So if u stay in Jurong West, you can still order from Changi. Lol... got to pay to play the greedy fucker game.

 

[knowwhatyouwantinlife]

All these paika paichew deserve it

Now not really about bai ka bai chiu...many cases are classified as unlinked work permits the past week not too sure if it is a convenient classification so as to not cause alarm as some of these could fdw...imagine 3 sundays ago they were hanging out with their maid friends who has Bangladesh boyfriends...all these maids could be passive carriers and on weekdays they go ntuc ss cs touch this touch that...hence some people would rather pay the delivery fees...but 20 plus is really carrot head...unless there is a new tier meaning pay 20 will be fast delivery by a taxi or phv..and like scroobal said delivering shake shack to jurong west

 

[bushtucker]

15.70 could buy you two decent Macs value meals. Why sinkies so lazy? After that complain expensive? Just do takeaway from the eatery lah.

 

[valleycat]

Commentary: If we can share or hitch rides, why not food delivery?
Amid calls to lower commission fees, food delivery apps should rethink their business operations – including considering asking some consumers to pay more, says Jonathan Chang.

A Grab delivery rider wears a face mask
A Grab delivery rider wears a face mask as he cycles on a street in Singapore, Mar 31, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)
Bookmark
SINGAPORE: Once upon a time, delivery app companies in Singapore were intensely competing with one another, trying to change the way consumers buy food by dishing out discount coupons left and right.

Investors poured an exorbitant amount of capital, envisioning that a big war chest was needed to achieve scale.

This strategy eerily mirrored that of private-car hire sector.

In principle, scale would allow companies to spread out operating costs and make their products and services more affordable, which in turn, increases their market share.

Restaurants and big international food chains signed up with the major three online food delivery platforms Deliveroo, FoodPanda and GrabFood as a way to broaden their customer base.

ENTER COVID-19 AND CRITICISM OF DELIVERY APPS

With COVID-19 and the subsequent “circuit breakers” rolled out in Singapore, including outlawing dining-in, it was boon time for online food delivery companies.

READ: Commentary: Lockdown and isolation sound simple – but keeping people at home is no easy answer
Captive customers are ordering food in droves through their mobile apps. Eateries are signing up en masse. People queued for hours to become food deliverers.

Yet the law of economies of scale, in which a proportionate saving in costs is gained with an increased level of production, doesn’t seem to apply to the high merchant fees F&B outlets have been paying to delivery app companies.

The commission fee has remained roughly the same as before the pandemic: 25 per cent to 32 per cent of each other, according to the Restaurant Association of Singapore, which has over 450 members.

Bikers of food courier service Deliveroo demonstrate as they called on clients to boyco
Bikers of food courier service Deliveroo demonstrate as they called on clients to boycott the brand in Paris, France, Aug 7, 2019. (Photo: REUTERS/Charles Platiau)
This might not be the sky-high rates the likes of UberEats in other countries charge, which slapped these fees on the consumer instead of the food outlet and can come up to 90 per cent of your meal, according to a New York Times report.

But the criticism leveled on the high merchant fees have been loud and wide, while the muted response from online food delivery companies has been deafening.

Melvin Yong, assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), in a blog post, even said the commission fees charged by some online food delivery companies can exceed the hawker’s profit margins.

There is a way to make money, and then there is a way to make money responsibly and sensibly, especially in this unprecedented time of crisis, many have said.

HIGH COMMISSION DO FEES HURT EATERIES

Since the implementation of circuit breakers in Singapore, numerous F&B outlets have chosen to call it a day.

From stalwart Swee Kee Eating House to new kid on the block Grain Traders, many have closed shop, with more simply ceasing to exist, given how COVID-19 has all but eviscerated demand.

READ: Commentary: COVID-19 will plunge EPL clubs into financial woes
After all, with empty malls, office buildings, and educational institutions, the foot traffic eateries depend on, how much can food delivery sustain operations?

The cost of running a store is not just about the salary of the workers, but also the cost of goods sold and other operating expenses.

This is not counting business loan interest repayments and other fixed costs like rent. There has been huge assistance from the Singapore Government, from rental rebates, wage support and even Enterprise Singapore covering part of the commission fees.

(rp) Swee Kee Eating house
The Swee Kee Eating House along Amoy Street. (Photo: Cedric Tang)
But I will not be surprised if we see a shrinking pool of eateries in the coming weeks and months to come. More will decide to shut down, unable to sustain the business any longer.

EATERIES WILL FIGHT BACK

For the rest hanging on the margins, larger, more established restaurants with an established base of regulars will try to circumvent high merchant fees by setting up their own online delivery channels that directly compete with food delivery apps.

More will also use such channels to also offer discounts for self-pick-up customers but encouraging this could be counterproductive to the spirit of the circuit breakers if customers crowd around eateries to save money.

Ground-up initiatives including Facebook Group platforms like Singapore Restaurant Rescue and Hawkers United – Dabao 2020 have also thrown F&B outlets new, captive audiences, as a #supportlocal movement gains traction in Singapore.

LISTEN: Disruption 101: How COVID-19 is revolutionising work
But it is unclear if such momentum that depends on a small base of highly engaged but loyal fans will still be around to power eateries after COVID-19 blows over and can be a sustainable business model.

Delivery apps suddenly look like an attractive means to achieve scale after the pandemic is over.

DELIVERY APPS MUST BE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE

Still, at some point, the Big Three may rethink the commission rates they charge eateries for a variety of reasons.

Drawing parallels with the private-hire sector, Grab had announced it would halve commission for private hire drivers for the period of the circuit breaker, given slowing demand for rides. Then again, ride-hailing demand has evaporated and doing so seemed like the generous thing to do.

empty spaces - a look at singapore during covid-19 circuit breaker
Lau Pa Sat food centre at mid-day during the circuit breaker. (Photo: Jeremy Long)
We also know sensible investors would also like to see their portfolio companies do the right thing, providing support to local communities, given the momentum towards prioritising Environmental, Social and Governance goals in the corporate world.

READ: Commentary: Has COVID-19 made e-commerce and online shopping the new normal?
Surely businesses would want to leave COVID-19 with reputations intact?

For this reason perhaps, Airbnb has connected overworked health workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in France and Italy with hosts offering their homes to stay – for free. It has waived all fees and even provides 50 euros to each host to help with cleaning costs.

RETHINK ON-DEMAND FOOD DELIVERY

Maybe what delivery companies need is a different strategy behind their technology platform, which has been powered by a promise to fulfill your needs on-demand.

We have compared delivery apps to companies with pure tech plays like Netflix, where the marginal cost of handling higher traffic isn’t that much (until you need to build a new data centre or acquire servers with higher bandwidth), but forget the long, logistical lines that power these operations.

Although much scorn has been poured on food delivery apps, a huge gap in our understanding is how much food deliverers earn from each delivery that eats into the commission fees eateries are charged.

A Foodpanda rider on an e-scooter.
A Foodpanda rider on an e-scooter. (File photo: TODAY)
If we do not want those reduced, we then need to ask ourselves whether delivery has been underpriced all this while. Consumers will have to pay more if so.

I also do not think it is too much to ask customers (including me) to place orders in advance in exchange for lower merchant fees. This would allow riders to consolidate to pick up orders in bulk and combine delivery routes but the efficiency of batching will require orders hours in advance.

This could also aid smaller F&B outlets by helping them predict how much food they must prepare ahead of time, reducing food waste in a time when food supplies are under strain from restrictions and uncertainty in global supply chains.

INTERACTIVE: All the COVID-19 clusters at dorms and construction sites
Pre-COVID, many of us accepted it as a business decision when private car hire companies charged surge pricing during certain hours due to high demand.

We bought the argument the surge pricing was needed to incentivise drivers to be on the road, so surely consumers too will be open to paying more if they want lunch on-demand instead of ordering in advance.

A segment of us also traded convenience in return for lower fees in pooling or hitching rides – so why can’t such concepts be ported over to food delivery? Such needed funds could also be passed onto F&B outlets and hawkers to tide over this time of crisis.

OUR ESSENTIAL SERVICES?

The fact is that food delivery companies have become an essential service as countries like Singapore urge people to stay in.

COVID-19 has catapulted them in the same categories as health, social services and many others that keep countries going during this stay-in period and shone the public spotlight on them.

Grab Food, grab, delivery driver - file photo
File photo of a Grab Food delivery driver (Photo: Jeremy Long)
Many of us might have enjoyed the affordability and convenience of food delivery before the coronavirus outbreak, but its larger public benefits in keeping people home have come into sharper focus with a raging pandemic.

We are not living under a normal time – a business-as-usual model can no longer apply. It’s time to rethink deliveries and who must pay more.

I ORDERED FOOD THROUGH A POPULAR DELIVERY SERVICE , WHEN THE DELIVERY GUY CAME ALONG I TIPPED HIM AND REQUESTED FOR HIS PHONE NUMBER INORDER TO CALL HIM DIRECT AND PAY HIM A FULL DELIVERY SERVICE FEE SO HE WILL NOT GET PITTANCE FROM THE TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM THAT TAKES A HIGH COMMISION THUS DEPRIVING THE POOR DELIVERY RIDER A DECENT INCOME . SO FOR EVERY DIFFERENT FOOD OUTLET THAT I ORDER FOOD FROM , THE DELIVERY PLATFORM CAN MAKE A BIG COMMISSION FOR THE FIRST TIME AND MY SECOND ORDER WITH BE THROUGH THE DILERY RIDER DIRECTLY . THIS WILL HELP THEM IN DUCH DIFFICULT TIMES TO MAKE A BETTER INCOME TAKING SUCH HIGH RISKS RIDING ON THE STREETS AND SUPER HOT SUN . PLEASE SUPPORT THESE RIDERS , SOME OF THEM LOST THEIR FULL TIME JOBS TO JOIN THE DELIVERY PLATFORM TO FEED THEIR FAMILIES.

 

[mojito]

15.70 could buy you two decent Macs value meals. Why sinkies so lazy? After that complain expensive? Just do takeaway from the eatery lah.

No more mac take away bro, only delivery or drive through.

 

[knowwhatyouwantinlife]

I'm sure we will all die and be extinct like the dinosaurs if all hawker centres restaurants and food delivery services cease to exist...bummer

 

[sleaguepunter]

Singaporeans all cannot cook meh? Then why supermarkets full of ppl buying groceries?